Lamp bracket assembly



Feb. 25, 1969 p, NATALE 3,429,538

LAMP BRACKET ASSEMBLY Filed April 11, 1967 f FIG. 1

5 INVENTOR. DOMINICK NATALE ATTORN EYS United States Patent Office3,429,538 Patented Feb. 25, 1969 3,429,538 LAMP BRACKET ASSEMBLYDominick Natale, Wood Ridge, NJ. Natale Machine and Tool Co., P.O. Box95, 'Carlstadt, NJ. 07072) Filed Apr. 11, 1967, Ser. No. 630,002 US. Cl.248-228 Int. Cl. F16]: 12/00, 13/02, 13/12 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention Thisinvention pertains to lamp supports and more particularly to a lampbracket assembly for removably holding a lamp in a protected andstabilized manner.

Description of the prior art In conventionally constructed lampbrackets, the lamp unit is typically fixed to the bracket in a more orless permanent fashion as, for example, by welding. Also, wheninstalling the conventional lamp bracket onto a support, theconstruction is such as to require a connection to the support which isnot readily detachable. With bracket constructions of this type, repairor replacement of the lamp unit becomes difi'lcult since detachment fromthe bracket requires breaking of the welded joints. In addition,installation of the bracket onto the support often entails drilling ofholes in the support so that the bracket may be bolted thereto. This notonly requires some amount of time; but also necessitates the use oftools and additional connector members of one sort or another. This maynot be too disadvantageous where the lamp is to be permanently installedat one location on the support; but it is inconvenient in the type ofsituationwhere it is desired to move the lamp from place to place.

With presently available lamp brackets designed for supporting the lampfrom an overhead beam as, for example, found in a building where thelamp is to be used, the lamp unit is often connected to the bracket tohang below the supporting beam and in some cases, the entire brackettogether with the lamp is connected to the beam in a hanging manner.With this type of bracket construc- K tion and installation, the lamp isvulnerable to being damaged or broken. This is especially true where thelamp is to be used in factories or other places where cranes or similarequipment is operated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the teachings of the presentinvention, the lamp bracket assembly is constructed for quick attachmentto a support such as an overhead inverted T- beam. Also, the bracketassembly is constructed so that the lamp unit to be used therewith canbe readily attached in a protected and stable fashion and removed as aseparate unit when, for example, replacement is desired.

Generally, the bracket includes a body member and two extending legswhich together form a generally C- shape structure. The bottom leg ofthe C forms an extension foot which is adapted to seat on the crossmember of an inverted T-beam. The upper leg of the C, on the other hand,is longer than the extension foot and defines an overhanging arm on thefree end of which the lamp unit is adapted to be hung by way of a hookor the like. For removably securing the bracket to the inverted T- beam,the body member is provided with a downwardly facing bracket hook forreception over the upwardly extending leg of the T-beam. Also, a lockscrew is threaded through this hook for engaging against the leg of theT- beam to lock the bracket onto the beam.

In order to protect the lamp from damage as might be caused by theoperation of cranes or similar equipment where the lamp is supportedinside a building on an overhead roof beam, the bracket is constructedwith the overhanging arm spaced vertically above the extension foot by adistance which is greater than the overall length of the lamp unithanging from the arm. Accordingly, the lowermost part of the lamp willbe located above the structural roof beam to which the bracket isconnected; and thus, the beam itself will act to protect the lampagainst being struck by equipment operating below.

With the lamp unit being hung from the free end of the overhanging armof the bracket, the weight of the lamp tends to unbalance the assembly.To counteract this and to provide a stabilized structure, a ballastmember is positioned on the extension foot and secured in place byclamping to the body member of the bracket. The weight of this ballastmember is sufiicient to offset the unbalancing forces created by thehanging lamp unit and as such produces a completely stabilized assembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation of thebracket assembly shown secured to an inverted T-beam;

FIG. 2 is a perspective of the bracket assembly showing a typicalinstallation on a roof supporting girder of a building; and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the lower portion of the bracket assemblyshowing the positioning of the ballast member thereon.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, thebracket assembly generally designated at 1 and which is constructed ofsteel comprises a vertically extending body member 2 and outwardlyextending legs 3 and 4 at either end thereof giving the bracket aC-shaped configuration. The lower leg, designated 3 in the drawings,defines an extension foot while the upper leg designated 4 defines anoverhanging arm which extends beyond the extension foot.

The bracket is adapted to be secured to a structural support member suchas an inverted T-beam 5 forming part of the roof supporting girders of abuilding. On the free end of the overhanging arm 4 there is provided adownwardly turned portion 6 having a hole 7 therein. Through this hole,the lamp unit shown at 8 is adapted to be hung as by means of a suitablehook 9.

As most clearly shown in FIG. 1, the bracket assembly is adapted to seaton one side of the cross member 10 of the T-beam and securely heldthereon by attachment to the upstanding rib portion or leg 11 of thebeam. For this latter purpose, the body member of the bracket assemblyis provided with a downwardly facing bracket hook 12. This hook isformed as an integral part of the upper portion of the body member withthe lower portion of the body member being welded thereto as shown inFIG. 1. In location, this hook is spaced vertically :from the extensionfoot 3 by a distance equal to the height of the rib portion 11 of theT-beam and is adapted to be received thereover to stop the bracket fromtipping in a forward direction off the T beam. In addition, a lock screw13 is threadably received in the bracket hook with its forward endfacing the rib portion of the T-beam. By screwing the lock screw intoengagement with the rib of the T-beam, the bracket assembly is easilyand quickly secured to the T-beam.

Due to the overhanging construction of the arm 4 of the bracket, thelamp unit when hung on the free end thereof tends to tip the bracket. Toavoid this and stabilize the entire assembly when the lamp unit is inposition, a ballast member 14 is provided as part of the assembly. Thisballast member comprisees a mercury vapor transformer where a mercurylamp unit is used and it rests on the extension foot 3 which isconstructed with a raised support 1 5 therefor, and has its center ofgravity located inwardly of the cross member of the T-beam. The supportis positioned outwardly of a raised rib 16 formed on the extension footat a location spaced from the body member 2 of the bracket. The rib 16is part of the structure for securing the ballast portion of theassembly onto the bracket portion. Cooperating with this rib is adownwardly facing bracket hook 17 welded or similarly fixed to theballast, as shown in FIG. 3. In addition, a bar clamp mechanism 18 isprovided at the upper end of the ballast. This clamp mechanism includesa removable bar 19 adapted to be attached to an upstanding clampingplate 20 on the ballast member by means of a pair of nuts and bolts 21.

On assembly of the ballast portion of the assembly, the ballast hook 17is positioned over the rib 16 of the extension foot and the clamp bar 19is then secured to the body member of the bracket in opposed relationrelative to the body member 2 of the bracket as shown in FIG. 1. Thissecurely and at the same time removably fixes the ballast member to thebracket and provides the counterbalancing weight necessary to stabilizethe assembly.

To permit quick attachment or removal of the lamp unit from the bracketand to also facilitate its connection to electrical line carrying thecurrent to the lamp, the bracket assembly is provided with its ownelectrical cord 22. This cord is connected to the ballast member and hasone terminal connector 23 for connecting to the electrical line 24leading to the conventional source of electrical power and a secondterminal connector 25 at its other end for connecting to the lampthrough the lamp cord 26.

With the construction of applicants bracket assembly as described above,installation merely requires the placing of the bracket assembly ontothe cross member 10 of the T-beam with the bracket hook 12 overlying therib 11 of the beam, tightening of the clamp screw 13, and plugging intoany convenient line outlet 24. The assembly may be left in position as apermanent installation or relocated with ease since no modification tothe beam or separate tools are required for making the installation. Thelamp assembly as a separate unit is removably attached in a positionprotected by the beam and may easily be removed by disconnecting thecord 26 from the terminal connector 25 and slipping the lamp hook 9 outfrom the hole 7 in the overhanging arm. In addition, the ballast member14, due to its positioning on the extension foot, holds the assemblyagainst tipping and thus provides a well stabilized structure.

The above description of the present invention has been made withreference to the presently preferred embodiment; however, it is to beunderstood that various changes may be made thereto without departingfrom the scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A lamp bracket assembly for supporting a lamp on a structural memberhaving a horizontal portion and a vertically extending rib portion ofpredetermined height comprising:

(a) a main rigid body member;

(b) an extension ifoot at one end of said main body member extending atright angles from one side thereof for seating on the horizontal portionof said structural member with the main body member extending in anupward direction beyond said rib portion;

(c) an overhanging arm at the other end of the main body memberextending from said one side thereof beyond both the free end of saidextension foot and the horizontal portion of said structural member;

(d) means at the free end of said overhanging arm for hanging a lampthereon;

(e) a downwardly facing bracket hook on the other side of the bodymembers, said bracket hook being spaced from said extension foot by adistance equal to the predetermined height of the rib portion of saidstructural member for hooking over said rib portion when said extensionfoot is resting on the horizontal portion thereof; and

(f) a ballast member positioned on said extension foot,

said ballast member having a sufficient weight relative to the weight ofthe lamp hanging from said overhanging arm to stabilize said bracket onthe structural member.

2. A lamp bracket assembly according to claim 1 for supporting said lampon a structural member comprising an inverted T-beam with the leg of thebeam defining said rib portion and the cross member on one side of theleg defining said horizontal portion wherein:

(a) the vertical distance between the cross member of the T-beam and theoverhanging arm is greater than the vertical dimension of the hanginglamp.

3. A lamp bracket assembly according to claim 2 further comprising:

(a) a lock screw threadably received through the bracket hook forengagement against the leg of the T-bea'm to removably secure saidbracket to said T-beam.

4. A lamp bracket according to claim 3 further comprising:

(a) a vertically extending rib on said extension foot at a locationspaced from said body member;

(b) a downwardly facing ballast hook on the side of the ballast memberfacing said body member for reception over said last-mentioned rib; and

(c) clamp means at the upper end of said ballast member for removablysecuring said ballast member to the body member of said bracket.

'5. A lamp bracket assembly according to claim 4 further comprising:

(a) an electrical cord connected to said ballast member and having afirst terminal connector at one end thereof for connecting to a sourceof electrical power and a second terminal connector at the other endthereof for connecting to said lamp.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,034,353 3/ 1936 Pierson248--2l4 2,597,662 5/1952 Melamed et al. 24052.1 X 2,736,527 2/1956Maier 248-228 CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Primary Examiner.

J. F. FOSS, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 24052.l

